//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Whistle for the Wind Part 2 // Story: Danganronpa: In Harmony's Wake // by Dewdrops on the Grass //------------------------------// Chapter Five Whistle for the Wind Daily Life Part 2 I thought about following after Adagio. What she said worried me, deeply. She hadn’t brought it up in the conversation, but wasn’t it odd that somewhere deep in me I somehow knew a countersong to siren magic? What were the odds of that? Pretty damned slim. It must’ve meant something. Well, there was one possibility. One distinct possibility that, if I put it together with all the other oddities, all the other magic we’d seen, explained it perfectly. But I didn’t want to consider that for even a second. I scoured the thought from my mind, refusing to entertain it. Never had I wanted more to be wrong about something than this. If I was right--no. No. I can’t be. I refuse to accept it. Finding myself with little else to do before Tiara called us all together, I decided to try fixing my guitar in the prop shop. It proved easier than I expected, almost as if it wasn’t the first time I’d had to fix damage like this in my instrument. It left me plenty of time to do a few other things that needed doing before I returned to my cabin with the restored guitar, like Trixie’s favor. Once back at my cabin, I had a few spare moments to try playing the guitar again. I locked the room tight, and sealed the porthole window before pulling it out and testing the strings. I’d picked up a couple of spares in the prop shop inventory, because of course it had guitar strings, alongside a whole heap of other instrument parts. Tuning was a quick, easy affair. Then I tested the sound. It was… slightly different in timbre, different in some ephemeral, abstract way I found impossible to describe. Like the guitar itself had its own soul, however small, permanently scarred by its injuries. This wasn’t unheard of in Equestria. Beloved possessions owned by unicorns or other mages that were routinely involved with their magic would, over time, absorb small amounts of both the magic and the user’s emotions. In effect, the object would be enchanted with an imprint of the owner, imbued with emotions and resonating with magic. Harnessing this process on purpose was how many unique artifacts were crafted, such as most of Mage Meadowbrook’s. So for my guitar to have the same effect in it meant that I must’ve used magic with it. A lot of magic, and frequently at that. It was worth testing. So as I played around with a few basic chords, I decided to try accessing whatever it was that made me produce that countersong. I wasn’t intending to play it, precisely. Rather, I was hoping it would be some sort of insight into my lost memories. But nothing happened. No matter how I focused, or shifted my posture with the guitar, I couldn’t summon it up. No songs I didn’t know I knew. No mysterious magical music. Nothing. “Damn it,” I muttered as I set the guitar aside, more than a little irritated by my failure. I must be missing something. Something crucial. But what? I don’t-- The irritatingly shrill bleep of my Monopad scattered my thoughts to the winds. “Ugh, what now?” I groaned as I picked it up. Oh. Tiara wants us to meet up. About time. I made my way back to the food court, to our usual meeting table. Trixie was already there, along with Tiara, but no one else yet. Tiara was focused on something before her, some kind of large leather-bound book. Ignoring it for the moment, I sat down next to Trixie and leaned over to whisper, “I took care of that favor for you.” Her eyes lit up like floodlights at a baseball stadium, but she managed to restrain her excitement to a mere whispered “Thank you!” “I’m still not sure it’s a good idea, though,” I whispered back. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Trixie said a bit louder, more reassuringly. Tiara’s face shot up to glare at us through squinted eyes. “What’s fine?” “Nothing,” I said with a shrug. I leaned forward to get a closer look at the book she had. “What’s that you’ve got there?” Tiara glared some more at me, then looked back down at her book. “It’s a photo album. Found it in the church.” “Who’s in it?” With a roll of her eyes, the rich elitist replied, “Wait for everyone else, Sunset. I’m tired enough as it is.” I sat back to wait, but fortunately didn’t have to wait long. When Adagio came in, she took a seat near me, but kept glancing at me strangely, with an unreadable expression on her face. Like she was studying me for some reason. Maybe she suspects that I--no! No, no, no. I am not going to think that. No. “Okay, people,” Tiara said, standing up from her chair. “We’re all here, we’re all tired as shit. Let’s get this over with. What’d we find this time?” Rarity cleared her throat for attention. “There is a gorgeous museum on the lowest level of the promenade! It’s focused on astronomy, and features a darling little movie theater which shows many films on the subject of space.” “Trixie learned a great deal about star formation,” Trixie seconded, a small smile on her face. “Oh, and on the other side of that theater,” Rarity said, “there’s a door to a covered balcony. With telescopes. Expensive telescopes.” That caught my attention. “There is? I must’ve missed that when I checked out the theater.” Rarity tittered, and gently patted my arm. “Oh Sunset. You do seem to miss things I need to point out to you.” Her touch lingered a few seconds too long, and I had to pull my arm away to get her hand off it. “The door is the same color as the walls,” Trixie said. “Trixie thinks that’s on purpose, so that when movies play you can’t see it.” “That would explain the small sign above it reading ‘access during nighttime hours only,’” Rarity replied, her expression dimming as she withdrew her hand back onto her lap. “They wouldn’t want people washing out the theater with daylight.” “Well,” I said, after eying Rarity suspiciously for a moment, “there’s more to the museum than that. It features a lot of displays that claim to have actual samples from moon missions, Ares missions, and so on. They’re probably just replicas, but they look convincing.” “How would you know?” Scootaloo asked. Feeling a bit defensive, I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “I like space. I read a lot about it.” Scootaloo nodded. “Okay. Just wondering. You’re pretty smart but I figured if anyone would’ve known if they were real or not, it would’ve been… Twilight.” “Ah think she would’ve loved to see this museum y’all’re talkin’ about,” Applejack said with a wistful tone in her voice. “Ah think Apple Bloom would’ve too, ‘cause of the rockets.” “That’s right, there are rocket displays as well,” I said. “One big timeline of AUSA missions, from the first sounding rocket all the way to modern day. It’s incredibly comprehensive. I’m surprised there’s so much detail to it.” “And if that wasn’t enough,” Adagio chimed in, her expression still unreadable, “There are displays of the planets in the museum. Like the fancy tech Monoponi uses in the courtroom. They’re… beautiful.” “Incredibly detailed,” I added. “Earth especially. These displays are so advanced they even have some kind of contouring that gives them a physical feel. Not sure how they did that. The other planets are all based on a combination of satellite imagery, probe imagery, and artistic impressions, but Earth’s appeared real time, with clouds, weather, and everything. There was even something that said it tracked the cruise ship’s position, but that wasn’t working.” “Of course not,” Tiara snorted. “Why make it easy for us to figure out where we are now? Was there anything else about the museum?” “Actually, yeah, now that you mention it,” I replied, “there was an employee only hallway. It was lined with posters of star charts, and they all focused on the southern hemisphere, not the northern. Back on one of our first days on the ship, Twilight told me she suspected we were in the south Pacific. I’m betting those star charts confirm it.” “That’s not helpful, though,” Scootaloo protested with an irritated expression. “The south Pacific is like half the planet.” “Mmm, more like a fifth, but you’re not wrong,” I agreed. “Though I’m surprised you knew that.” A slight blush suffused Scootaloo’s cheeks as she looked away. “I like maps.” “Me too,” I said with a grin. “They’re fun.” “Right?” Scootaloo looked up at me and smiled, despite her blush growing. “They’re so cool.” “Anyhow,” Adagio said, “what Sunset failed to mention was the museum director’s office. It had a proper desktop computer inside. No useful information or internet connection, but there was a printer. The office also connected to the access corridor, so it’s yet another way for people to sneak around.” “Great, because we really needed another one of those,” Tiara groaned. “Well, movin’ on, there’s a church,” Applejack said, a hint of a smile on her face. “It ain’t for any one religion, but it’s pretty fancy. Quiet too.” “Uh-huh,” Scootaloo said. Her smile dimmed until it faded entirely as her face fell. “It’s peaceful. The whole church is soundproofed, especially the foyer. So you can be alone with your thoughts. And prayers.” Rarity’s face twisted into a frown as she reached out, offering a hand to Scootaloo. “Are you religious, darling?” Scootaloo shrugged as she heaved a sigh, before taking the proffered hand. “Kinda? My aunts are. Holiday and Lofty. They’re neopagans. Nature worship, spirits of the earth, that kind of thing. I grew up with them, and picked up on some of it. Enough that… prayer helps.” “Yeah, I took a few moments myself to say some things,” I admitted. “Helped take a bit of a load off my mind.” The seamstress squeezed Scootaloo’s hand reassuringly. “I can imagine so. I’ve never been much of one for the Good Book, as my father would put it, but…” She released her own sorrowful sigh. “If nothing else, I should take the time to say a few things. For Sweetie Belle’s sake.” I saw Trixie crumble, shrinking in on herself till she adopted a posture much like the one she’d held just after the third trial. “Trixie should also attend. To atone.” “Hmph. Now that right there’s one of the first things outta your mouth Ah can actually agree with,” Applejack said with a sharp glare. “Anyhow, besides the main church, there were a couple of other things there. A music room, with all kinds of musical instruments, many of which Ah’d never seen before. Also a Sunday school. Good for the kids, if there were any.” “Thank heavens there aren’t,” Rarity said, holding a hand to her breast. “Awful enough this game was held with adults. Could you imagine Monoponi forcing children to go through with it too?” My whole body shivered at the thought. “Speaking of the music room, I found a guitar in there.” I saw Adagio’s eyes widen substantially with alarm and her body tense up, so I reined in what I’d been about to say. “It was mine. Had my name on it.” “Really?” Rarity asked, arching an eyebrow. She hummed and propped up her chin with her hand. “I wonder. Might it be there are other instruments there that belong to the rest of us? We should check when we get the chance.” “Nevermind that,” Tiara said, pushing forward the book she’d held shut and close to herself during the whole chat. “There wasn’t anything else we found, right? No? Good. Then I need to show you all this.” As she opened it, her face shot up to fire off the harshest, most hateful scowl I’d seen her bear, right at Adagio of all people. “It’s got to do with the siren among us.” “Oh, I almost forgot about that!” Scootaloo breathed as she looked between Adagio, then at the book. “I figured if Sunset trusts her, I’d trust her.” “Ah won’t,” Applejack snorted, turning her dark glare on the siren. “But then, Ah did have my life threatened by her.” Rarity scoffed. “Like that would be much of a loss.” “All of you shut up,” Adagio ordered, her demeanor tensing further, albeit her expression was still unreadable. “What do you have, Tiara?” Tiara turned it around and pushed it forward. “It’s a photo album. A big one. The photos date to late 2014. And there’s a lot of familiar faces in them.” As I took in the details of the photos, my jaw dropped further and further till it was scraping the ground from my astonishment. “Holy shit.” The photos featured a high school, one familiar to all of us. Canterlot High. Several of the pictures featured various students, with plenty of familiar faces, like Tiara said. There was a picture of Tiara standing next to some silver-haired girl, wearing an outfit surprisingly similar to her current one. There was another with Trixie hogging the camera while Wallflower Blush lurked in the background. Flash Sentry featured in another one, next to a group of unfamiliar boys. Several other pictures of various groups of people I didn’t recognize, all of whom were either wearing matched outfits and carrying musical instruments. Then there was one of Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, unmistakable despite their younger age and utterly bizarre choice of costumes. Seriously, were they going for some kind of weird 80s metal band vibe? But then there were the pictures. These featured two prominent groups. One was a trio of girls, two unfamiliar faces led by what was unmistakably Adagio Dazzle. In every picture, those three were singing or sauntering or otherwise looking smug and, frankly, more than a little evil. But the other group? That was what took my breath away. I knew, abstractly, that I’d been familiar with Twilight Sparkle and her alternate pony self. I knew, abstractly, that I probably had known of or even befriended many of the others. But it was one thing to think that in abstract terms, and another to see proof. There I was, standing to the side in many of the pictures, cheering on Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity as they played music together on stage, with a proud emblem on Pinkie’s set of drums reading “The Rainbooms.” In most of these pictures, there were hanging signs of one sort or another, mentioning a Battle of the Bands. This must’ve been some event we all participated in, but why were Adagio and her sisters there? As soon as I thought that though, I received my answer. Every picture we’d seen so far was a brief snapshot, a glimpse, on the first few pages. The rest of the album was taken up by scores of photos, almost like a frame by frame video. Adagio and her sisters up on an outdoor stage in front of the entire school’s population, singing away while transforming, gaining scaly, somewhat ephemeral wings and cat pupil eyes, while summoning up wave after wave of magic to take control over the crowd. Red gemstones on their necks gleamed bright with charged power as they drained the emotions from those around them. And then the pictures switched focus, to Twilight Sparkle leading Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash while up on the hill above the crowd. I was there too, like I was offering moral support. Then they began to play, and they transformed too, their hair growing like crazy to form mock tails, their ears disappearing to be replaced by pony ones atop their heads. Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Twilight even grew wings to match! What followed was a blow by blow of magical song warfare. Adagio’s group summoned up avatars of their siren selves, blasting the Rainbooms with sonic force, while the Rainbooms shot back with their own magic, using the power of their instruments, or in Twilight’s case, her voice. Then the sirens overwhelmed them with one sustained blast of overwhelming song power, scattering the Rainbooms and leaving them helpless. Except for me. Twilight reached out to me, begged me to help, and I took up the mike. As my own song poured from my lips, the song I knew had to be the one I’d started singing back in the church, the Rainbooms recovered, and joined me. Magic flowed through me till I transformed just like them, long hair and pony ears. We rose up as a single force into the sky, with me in the middle, calling upon the might of our magical song to summon up our own avatar, a mighty alicorn. With the power of harmony on our side we destroyed the siren’s avatars… and shattered their necklaces. As Diamond Tiara showed us the last picture, she pointed at Adagio. “See! She was evil! She tried to take over the whole school! It was only thanks to Sunset she was stopped!” It was me, I realized, my horror growing by the second. I shattered Adagio’s necklace. I took away her ability to sing! It was me! I faced Adagio, trying desperately to find the words to apologize, to say I was sorry, to speak anything other than shocked, muted silence. But the words weren’t there. My throat closed up, my tongue like a lead weight, unable to be moved. All I could do was gape, and splutter unintelligible noise. Adagio… I thought I’d seen anger on her face before. Hurt. Betrayal even. The cold wintry gaze of a predator, the fury of a love scorned. But no. I had seen nothing compared to what I saw now. She’d fallen backwards out of her chair, flat onto her back, only to roll over on her side and stand up. Her hands were raised up in that familiar claw-shape, her eyes scanning between us as if expecting an attack from every angle. Her movements were frantic, fast-paced, with zero hesitation. Her expression had shifted to a violent anger, burning like a raging inferno, her eyes flashing with eerie red light every few seconds like she was trying to summon up whatever magic she had left. When her gaze fell upon me, it flooded me with every last bit of rage, hurt, and outright perceived deception and disloyalty on my part. The sight filled me with so much fear, my pony instincts screaming and clamoring for attention about how they were right all along, that she was going to kill me on the spot. “You,” she snarled, her voice shifting between her usual voice and that creepy echoing reverb she’d put on in the church. “You’re the one who took away my magic!” She took two steps forward, her arms raised to strike. “Did you know about this?!” “No! I didn’t know! Adagio, I didn’t know, I swear!” I babbled as I hopped out of my chair and backed up, my knees buckling like crazy, every limb loose and wavy like I’d collapse into a pile of limp noodles at the slightest touch. “I would’ve told you if I knew!” “You’re lying!” Adagio screamed, stepping forward again. “I trusted you! I loved you! What else was a lie?! Was every… thing…” Adagio trailed off, her eyes losing focus, the glow fading. She took a few steps back, her legs shaking. “Was… was… it all a lie?” She shook her head rapidly like a dog, trying to shake loose cobwebs. Her stance steadied, the dizziness fading. “Was it, Sunset?” “No, I’m telling you the truth, Adagio! I didn’t know anything about this. If I did I--” Adagio roared and closed the distance fast, face to face with me before I could blink. I shrieked and fell over onto my back while she loomed over me. “To think I let a pony corrupt me the way you did. You used me. You took advantage of my fear, and filled my head with lies. You tried to turn me into, into one of you!” She reared back with her leg and kicked me full force in the stomach, forcing the wind out of me in a sudden rush of intense pain. “I am a siren! I am not a pony. I am not human. I am nothing like you!” “Okay, that’s enough!” Applejack shouted, leaping up to her feet. Rarity joined her, adopting her martial arts stance. “Don’t you dare harm another hair on Sunset’s head!” “Rrrgh!” Adagio whirled on them, turning her back on me. “Stay out of this! This is between Sunset and me. No one else!” “Adagio…!” I gasped, wheezing for air. I’d curled up around my stomach, grabbing at it with my hands. Waves of agony crashed through my body, making the struggle to speak even more difficult. “Please… listen… I didn’t… I would never…” Her foot slammed into my stomach again. Stars filled my vision as I grunted, unable to breath. My lungs screamed for oxygen, and everything turned grey. By the time I’d recovered and managed to breathe, Adagio was gone. She’d stomped off somewhere, presumably. Rarity and Scootaloo were leaning down behind me at either shoulder. “How’re you feeling, darling?” Rarity asked as she gently stroked my cheek. I took in a breath and grimaced, a groan of pain escaping my lips. “F-fuck, that hurts,” I moaned. Scootaloo stepped around me and placed her hand forward. “I’m going to feel your stomach, okay?” she said. When I nodded, she went ahead and laid her hand flat on my belly. “Does this hurt?” “No, it--Aaaugh!” I cried as she pushed deep into the left side of my stomach, right at the bottom of my rib cage. “God that hurts!” “Woah, okay, so you’ve got a cracked rib then,” Scootaloo said, yanking her hand away like it had touched fire. She tried to give me a reassuring smile. “I’m going to have to check the rest. This’ll probably hurt.” I took in another breath, grunting from the sharp pain. “Fine. Get it over--eeergn!” She’d pressed into the rib above it, and that one hurt even more, if anything. Then she tested the next one, which hurt less, and then the next, which barely hurt at all. “I think it’s just the bottom two,” I grunted as she pressed at the rib right below my breast. “Okay. Two cracked ribs then.” Scootaloo withdrew her hand and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about the pain.” “‘S’ fine. Not your fault.” Rarity slowly reached under my shoulders. “Try to sit up, Sunset. Easy now. Use me for support.” With her help, I managed to sit up enough that my head was laying against her abdomen. She leaned over just enough to look down at me, flashing me an upside down smile. “There you go. Better?” “A little,” I murmured as I relaxed, trying to ease my breathing. Every breath hurt like my lungs were wrapped up in razor wire, but by taking it slowly I managed to ease the pain. Another hand touched mine. I looked up to see Trixie sitting down next to Rarity, reaching out to offer support. She looked furious, though not with me. “Trixie cannot believe Adagio treated you that way, Sunset. She is deeply sorry.” I heard the rushing of fast moving footsteps before Diamond Tiara entered my field of view, toting a small plastic bag. “I got you some pain meds, Sunset,” she said, panting heavily. “Acetomi-whatever and codeine.” “Acetaminophen,” I corrected gently as I reached up for the bag. I opened it up, and fumbled with the pill bottle till I popped off the cap. Before I took it, I frowned. “Anyone have any--” “Here, sorry,” Applejack said, bending down to hand me an unopened bottle of water. I muttered a quick thank you, twisted open the bottle, and swallowed the pill. Afterwards, I asked, “Where’d Adagio go?” “Dunno,” Tiara answered. She held her body tense, like she was expecting to be attacked. Or yelled at. “Look, I’m sorry, it was my fault she--” “No!” I cut her off, then groaned as a fresh wave of pain rolled through me. “No, no, it’s not your fault. That was all her.” “Well for what it’s worth, Ah think she went stompin’ off to her cabin,” Applejack said. “Ah’m hopin’ she’s goin’ to soak her fat head, because Ah’m ready to do it for her if she doesn’t.” “Indeed,” Rarity sniffed, though she looked more than a little displeased to be agreeing with Applejack. “I cannot believe someone who claims to love you would act out in such a manner. It was entirely uncalled for.” Diamond Tiara snorted as she collapsed into a chair. “Shows she can’t be trusted! If she tried to take over a whole school, what else is she capable of?” “Trixie knew Adagio was an awful person from the start,” Trixie said, every word drenched in hot anger. “This is why Trixie tried to rescue Sunset, because she was scared.” “Well, as far as I’m concerned Trixie, you can consider yourself forgiven, at least by me,” Rarity said, reaching out to pat Trixie’s shoulder. “You’ve shown nothing but contrition and remorse for your actions.” “Yeah, yeah, you know what?” I said, trying to sit up further and only managing to smack my head against Rarity’s stomach. Wow, her abs are hard as a rock. “Me too. I forgive you too, Trixie. I think even Pinkie would.” Trixie’s eyes watered as she looked upon us, balling up both hands and clasping them to her chest. “You, you mean it? Truly? You forgive Trixie?” Tiara scowled at both of us, shaking her head slowly. “I’m not ready to forgive anyone yet.” “Sorry, but me neither. Just ‘cause the siren’s provin’ to be an ass don’t mean we start trustin’ the one in our group who got away with murder,” Applejack said sharply. “If you’re thinkin’ Ah’d be okay with lettin’ Trixie roam free now, forget it.” Scootaloo blew a sigh out through her teeth as she clutched for her hair. “Sorry, Trixie, but I’m with AJ. Besides, if Adagio’s on the warpath… she might try to kill you. You’re safer locked up.” “Mmm, they might be right, darling,” Rarity agreed after a moment. “For your safety, you understand.” Oh come on you guys. Just because she kicked me in the stomach a couple of times… and screamed about how I betrayed her, and tried to use magic, and fight us all, and… damn it. “Sorry, Trixie,” I grunted. “But they’re not wrong. If she tries to hurt you… you’re more vulnerable than any of us. I don’t want you to die.” “O-oh.” Trixie’s face fell. “Of course. Trixie understands.” I squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Hey, like I said, I forgive you.” She shifted her position on the floor to be closer to me, a small smile briefly gracing her face. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Maybe we should lock Adagio up too!” Tiara declared, glaring down the promenade in the general direction of the church. “If she’s going crazy I don’t want her hurting anyone.” My eyes widened in panic. “N-no! You can’t.” Sneering down at me, Tiara replied, “If this is because of your relationship--” “No, no, it’s because if you try,” I said, managing to push through the pain more easily thanks to the drugs. “She might actually kill someone.” “I think Sunset’s got a point,” Scootaloo said in agreement. She rubbed at the bottom of her chin. “Hrm, we should probably give her as much space as we can. Maybe she’ll calm down enough to talk.” “Well, if it’s all the same to y’all, Ah ain’t gonna risk being defenseless anymore,” Applejack said. She strode away into the sporting goods store, emerging after a moment carting an aluminium baseball bat. “Ah’m good with my fists, but Ah ain’t about to let her get within’ bitin’ distance again. Rarity took one look at the bat and harrumphed. “Of course a brute such as yourself would go for something so… inelegant. I’d rather have a foil. Or a sword.” Her eyes brightened as she snapped her fingers. “Diamond Tiara, do you know what happened to the swords Trixie used for her magic act?” Tiara’s mouth spread into a sinister smile. “I do. I’ve got them in my room. Why? You want one?” “If you would, please,” Rarity requested politely. “Uuuuh, is that really a good idea?” Scootaloo inquired, looking at all of us with disbelief etched on her face. “If you’re defending yourself with a sword, or a bat, won’t that make it more likely you’d kill her by mistake?” Rarity shook her head gently. “Not at all. I wish to have the sword as a deterrent.” “Same with my bat,” Applejack agreed, eliciting another dark glare from the seamstress. “Ah ain’t gonna bash her head in. Ah’m gonna use it to keep her from doin’ anythin’ stupid.” “And if she forces you to fight?” Scootaloo pressed. “What’re you going to do? Drop them? Throw them at her?” “Something like that,” Applejack answered as she ran her finger along the bat. “It’s not the best idea, but it’s better than going undefended,” Rarity added. My heart sank further with every word they spoke about self-defense. Was this what Monoponi meant by his threat? Was that why he gave us the photo album? To cause this level of chaos? To set us against each other? To punish me? It sure as hell feels like it. “Maybe you’re right, Rarity,” Scootaloo admitted. “I dunno about using a sword, but maybe I should go get a bat.” She stood off her chair. “‘Scuse me.” Rarity turned to Diamond Tiara. “What about you, Diamond? If you’d like, I could instruct you on how to use a sword effectively.” “Sounds good to me,” Tiara said. She glared down at her Monopad. “Look, you know what guys? It’s late. We’re all tired. Why don’t we get some more sleep?” “Agreed,” I said. I reached out to the table leg and tried to pull myself up by it. I only succeeded in causing a sudden burst of pain through my chest. “Damn it!” Rarity patted my shoulder. “Oh here, let me help you.” She turned me around on the floor and had me take both her hands in mine. With a great heave she had me up on my feet. “There you go.” I keep forgetting how strong Rarity is. Good grief. “Thanks.” Rarity offered her arm. “If you’d like, I can walk with you, make sure you get back safely.” “Uh, sure, sure, that sounds great,” I said, opting to link arms with the seamstress. We walked together at a languid pace, to spare me further stress on my ribs. Trixie stayed with us until she had to break off to her own cabin. Since I still had the key, I made sure to lock the door once she went in, then gave it to a waiting Tiara. Then with Rarity’s help, I entered my room, only realizing as I did so that I'd left the door unlocked. Again. Damn it. So as I went in, I glanced around, keeping an eye out in case Adagio was hanging about, prepared to shriek at me some more. But she wasn’t there. ...for that matter, neither was my guitar. At least, not in the state I’d left it in. “Oh no,” I moaned as I took in the damage. The guitar had been smashed apart against my desk, beat up over and over until it was little more than a stick. The strings had been slashed apart, and the neck cut up into pieces. I reached into the pile of remaining refuse and palmed a handful of wood chips, letting them run through my fingers. “She ruined it.” “Oh my heavens,” Rarity gasped. “That wasn’t the only thing she ruined! Look!” She pointed at the closet. I looked in to see that rather than the neat, organized racks of identical shirts, skirts, pants, and jackets, I had a large pile of shredded cloth, leather, and denim. She’d taken the time to slice up every last spare piece of clothing until there was little left to salvage. Even the robe and pajamas were destroyed. This is unreal! It was one thing to destroy the guitar. I get that. But my clothes too? I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed. “Did she destroy anything else? What about the bathroom?” Rarity took a brief look inside. “The shampoo and conditioner were dumped all over the place. She made an awful mess.” “God,” I groaned, falling over onto the bed despite the stabbing pains that ensued from my ribs. Then I sat up just as quickly, feeling a sense of panic run through me. “She didn’t put anything in the bed, did she? Like a hidden knife, or something?” Rarity checked it out, moving a hand carefully over it all before shaking her head. “No. Just vandalism, thank goodness. The bed is safe.” “Good.” I lowered myself back down to lay on the pillow. Exhaustion fed by the drugs I’d taken for the pain wormed within me, luring me with promises of restful sleep. “Thanks, Rarity, for the help.” “Of course, darling,” Rarity said. She made some sort of humming noise with her voice. “Um, if you’ll allow me to suggest… I’m not sure it’s safe for you to be alone right now. If you’d like, I could… stay with you? To keep you safe, of course.” Sigh. Suuure, that’s why you want to stay, Rarity. It can’t be you’re crushing on me and seeing this as the perfect opportunity to swoop in and carry me away. I chuckled quietly into my pillow. But she’s probably right. I thought Adagio was just pissed, but if she was doing all this damage to my room, she’s dangerous. She’s a threat. The humor fell away from my heart, replaced by hurt and sorrow. I didn’t know. I didn’t. I would’ve told her if I did. I never, ever wanted to use you, Adagio. I’m sorry. Maybe she’ll be calmer tomorrow. Maybe we can work this out. We can try, anyway. “Um, Sunset? Sunseeet? Did you fall asleep?” “Huh?” I looked up just enough to see Rarity leaning over me, a finger ready to prod at my shoulder. “Um. Yeah. You can stay. If you want.” Rarity made a happy squealing noise and leapt for joy. “Oh, wonderful!” Then she blanched, somehow paling despite her alabaster skin tone, and shrank back into herself, her smile turning sheepish. “Um. I mean, I’m glad to help. Excuse me for a moment. I need to go get the sword Tiara promised me. I’ll be right back.” I heard her footsteps heading out the door, and the quiet click of the door shutting and latching. Not for the first time, I wished the doors locked automatically when they were closed, instead of staying unlocked for easy access. Seriously, with how high tech everything else is on this boat, why don’t the cabins use keycards? Or keyless buttons? Or hell, run our Monopad on them? No, we have to have regular plain old metal keys. Soon, sooner than I expected, I heard the doorknob rustle. A frisson of fear trickled down my spine. Was it Adagio? Was she coming back to hurt me? Or maybe-- No, it was just Rarity, with her sword. The Qilinese dao sword looked absurd in her hands, just a bit too long and too thick to seem like something she’d be able to wield. But Rarity carried it like it was effortless, despite her own exhaustion. She locked the door as soon as she entered, then stepped forward, setting the sword down on the desk. “I’m back,” she said, waving. “Go ahead and get some sleep, Sunset. I’m going to clean up the bathroom for us. I refuse to go to bed without taking a proper shower, and I cannot abide such a filthy mess.” “You don’t have to do that,” I objected straight away, sitting up in bed despite the pain. “I can take care of it.” “Nonsense,” Rarity objected with a quick shake of her head. “You’re hurt. You need to rest. The last thing you need is to be on your hands and knees scrubbing at the floor.” She cringed for a moment before schooling her face back into a polite smile. “I’ll take care of it for you. Don’t worry.” “Okay,” I murmured, falling back against the pillow. “Thanks again.” She’s so generous. I like that a lot about her. Before long, I’d descended into the depths of slumber. Nonsensical images fluttered through my dreams. Giant guitars passing out bowls of soup to large crowds. Dozens of Adagios all struggling over a single red gem. Diamond Tiara up on a stage telling jokes to a laughing crowd. Myself, laying on a bed made out of prayer mats, incense visibly wafting through the air, waved about with great big fans in the arms of several Raritys, all of whom wore three piece suits. Scootaloo sitting in a grassy field, surrounded by all sorts of butterflies. Applejack, punching a giant apple tree to cause apples to plummet into six different baskets surrounding it. Then I was pulled out of sleep by a weight falling onto the bed, shaking it a bit before settling. “Rarity?” I mumbled. “Yes, darling, it’s just me,” Rarity answered. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I was trying not to.” “S’okay.” I reached out to pat her shoulder a few times, not really looking at what I was doing. “I don’t mind.” Rarity took in a sharp, sudden breath. “U-uh-um, Sunset,” she breathed, her voice trembling, “you should try to be a bit more… careful with your hands.” I blinked, and looked up enough to see where my hand landed. Then my face burned like fire as I snatched my hand away from her boob. “Oh shit, sorry!” I said, stuffing both hands under myself where they couldn’t reach her. “I seriously didn’t mean to do that.” For the briefest of moments, Rarity’s eyelids drooped to half mast, her lips spreading in a sultry smile. Then it was gone, replaced by embarrassment as stark on her face as it was on mine. “No need to worry, Sunset. I know you didn’t.” She turned away from me, laying on her side. “We should get some sleep.” “Right, right.” I rolled over myself till I was lying on my back, because being on my side put waaay too much pressure on my ribs. Then sleep reclaimed me, and I knew nothing til dawn.